Reminder

I've seen some unbelievably painful situations play out in the lives of friends over the past few months: illnesses, debilitating job searches, family conflict, the loss of precious loved ones. Some people want to talk about it and others don't, but they're all doing their best to put one foot in front of the other each day.

It's impossible for us to know the heartbreak that may be happening in the life of the person on the other side of the phone, the computer screen, the store counter. And since we don't know, it doesn't hurt to be a little more patient -- even if we're dealing with struggles ourselves. This little saying has lived on our refrigerator at home for the past year, and I can honestly say that it's done me good to have that reminder in front of my eyes when I'm tempted to lose it with any number of different people. It really is a better way to live.